


and I willl try (to fix you)

by GhostCwtch



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: FIx It, M/M, Rick + Ren 4ever, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-04-02
Packaged: 2017-12-07 06:57:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/745619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostCwtch/pseuds/GhostCwtch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fixit fic for In The Flesh, episode 3. Spoilers if you haven't seen it yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and I willl try (to fix you)

After, Kieren can’t say what instinct made him go up the hill to Rick’s. He hasn’t been allowed there since they were both about ten, and yet that’s where he finds himself. The same instinct has him peering in through the front window, chewing his lower lip and praying that Bill won’t spot him.  
   
It’s nothing to do with instinct when he bursts through the front door and tackles Bill to the ground. That’s pure self preservation. Kieren’s lost Rick before, he knows the dark place his world becomes without his soldier in it.  
   
“Kieren! Ren, stop!”  
   
Rick drags him off Bill and it’s then that Kieren realizes he is screaming. He can’t cry anymore, dead ducts don’t produce tears, but the sound he’s making is that of a wounded creature. There are no words. There were no words the last time Rick died, and this was too close.  
   
He’s stronger in this state that he was when he was fully alive, and he uses that strength now to hold Rick to him. Hesitant hands rubs his back and Kieren manages to stifle himself down to hiccupping sobs. Long moments pass. Bill has moved to sit on the sofa, staring at his hand where the knife he was going to use to kill Rick has sliced into his palm. The blood is a garish splash of color against his skin.  
   
“What was I…Rick…” Bill’s voice is weak. “I was gonna kill you. I was going to… to kill my son.” Rick starts shaking and now it’s Kieren’s turn to rub the strong back beneath his hands. “You were going to have me kill you!”  
   
“You said I was evil, Dad. That all rotters are evil and that Keiren is evil and I needed to kill him. I-I can’t be something you hate, and I can’t do what you want. I know you hate Ren, but I need him. I need him, Dad.”  
   
Kieren crushes Rick to him. “I’m not going to go because your dad’s a dick. I didn’t before. I promise, we’ll be together Rick, we will.”  
   
“Ren,” Rick’s voice wavers and he swallows heavily, “Ren, I don’t know if I can. It’s not just being, being dead. Before they found me there were…It was bad, Ren. I was so hungry, but my leg, and, in the desert it gets so hot, Ren. It gets so hot.”  
   
No one breaks the ensuing quiet until Rick’s mother returns. “Kieren? What…? Bill, what’s going on?”  
   
“We need to get Rick some help.”  
   
“What? What’s happened? Bill, your hand!”  
   
The story spills out in fits and starts. There are more tears. Kieren holds on to one of Rick’s hands with both of his. He can’t let go, physically can not release his grip. It’s Bill who calls the rest of the Walkers and explains the situation. Before long, Kieren’s parents and Jem crowd into the Macy’s living room as well.  
   
Kieren’s never seen his dad like this. His hands are clenched in shaking fists and his eyes are wild. A vein is throbbing visibly in his throat. “So help me, Bill, if you try and keep these two apart like before, after what happened, I will kill you myself. I try to be a reasonable man, but I can’t lose my son again, and I will do what needs to be done to keep him here.”  
   
Bill says nothing. The silence grows and Kieren does not let go of Rick.


End file.
